Writing instrument



July 19, 1927. 1,636,207

A. B. w. BARTHOLOMEW.

WRITING INSTRUMENT l l Filed June 16. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig-a.

l A.' B. `W. BARTHOLOMEW WRITING INSTRUMENT l Filed June 16. 1923 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig-2 July' 1.9; 1927.

Patented July 19, 1927.

UNITED STATES ALBERT B. W. BAnTHoLoMEW, on MONTREAL, minimo; CANADA. i

WRITING INSTRUMENT.

Application led June 1B, 1928. Serial No. 645,890.

Propelling pencils of the well-known makes now in use are objectionablefor the reason that when one ot the pieces of lead or graphite has beencompletely used it is necessary to disrnernber the pencil in order toplace another piece of lead or graphite in position for writing and thisdismemben ing proves not only veXatious to the Writer but in additioncauses a considerable loss of time.

The object of the present invention is to overcome this defectbyproviding a pencil having a magazine from which a plurality of piecesof lead or graphite may be successively fed or propelled to the writingpoint until the magazine is emptied, `Without dis:- membering the pencilin any Way.

A further object is to provide leadV propelling or feeding meanswhichwill propel or feed each piece of lead at a comparatively slow speedtowards the writing point and when the lead has been completely used andthe feeding movement has been completed will `return rapidly to itsinitial position'to commence another feeding movement;

Another object -is to accomplish the foregoing operations by the manualrotation in one direction of the usual cap on the top of the pencil. l

For full comprehension, however, of my invention reference must be hadto the accompanying drawings in .which similar reference charactersindicate thesame parts.l,and wherein l Figure 1 is a longitudinalsectional view of a pencil constructed according to my in'- Vention;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 2-2 Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 8-3 Figure 1 anddrawn to a larger scale;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional View c from the magazine.

taken on line 4 4 Figure 1 and drawn to a larger scale; j a

Figure 5- is a transverse sectionalview taken on line 5-5 Figure 1 anddrawn to ay larger scale;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 6 6 Figure 1 anddrawn to a larger scale; y

. Figures 7 and 8 are tregmentary longitudinal sectional views partly inelevation;

Figure 9 is a detail view. of the device i'orpropelling the lead; y

Figure 10 isy an underside plan view of the means for ejecting the leadfrom the magazine Figure 11 -is a sideelevation of the ejecting means;and

Figure 12 illustrates amodification. Referring tothe accompanying.ldrawings the hollow cylindrical-cased the pencil is indicated atQ,theftapered point at 3 and the detachable cap on the `opposite end at 4.The point is constituted `by a member of solid cross-section whichextends into the case as at 5 with a snug fit and is bored axially as at6 to provide a passageway for the lead, the inner end of the passagewaybeing flared as at Pto facilitate the entry of the lead The latterconsists of `a hollow cylindrical member 8 the interior of which isdivided into an annular series of longitudinal pockets 9having'discharge openings `10 in the transverse wall 12 clos-` ing/thelower end of the member.y vThe lat'- ter is inserted `into the` upperend of the case and extendsfinwardly tothe inner end of the member 5,its upper kend protrudingy slightly beyond the topof the case and re-'85 duced and threaded as at ySOto receive the cap .li-which isinternally threaded. Euch of the pockets 9 is adapted to contain one ofthe pieces of lead'13 asindicated in Figure 1, and thedischargetherefrom to the bore 6 is controlled bya distributor in theform of a toothed disc 14 which is rotatably mounted upon the reducedlower end of the magazine as at 15 in` position closing the dischargeopenings 107 the outside diameter of the disc being preferably greaterthan that of such lower end. This wheel has an opening 16 which isadapted to successively register with the openings as the disc isrotated for the purpose of permitting the lead to drop therethrough intothe flared mouth of the passageway 6 Although the lead will drop intothe passageway by gravity it is desirable that means be provided fore'ecting a positive ejection and to this end an ejector is mountedwithin the cap 4 at the upper end of the magazine. This ejector consistsof a plate which is adapted to bear against the inner side of the top ofthe cap and a resilient inverted cup-like member 42 divided radiallyinto a plurality of spring sections each carrying an ejecting rod 43which is adapted to extend` downwardly into one of the pockets andyieldingly bear upon the piece of lead therein, the pressure on thelatter causing it to be injected into the passageway when the opening 16registers with the pocket. Thel disc 14 is 4only rotated after the pieceof lead from the preceding pocket has been used and the extent of eachrotary movement is just suflicient to bring the opening 16 in alignmentwith the discharge opening of the next pocket.` This rotarymovement iscaused by a cam 17 carried by an axially movable lead feeding member 18,the cam having an inclined face which is adapted to engage one of theteeth of the disc 14 each time the member 18 completes its returnmovement away from the point after the preceding piece of lead has beenused, the construction and arrangement of the cam and the teeth of thedisc being such that the dise is just moved suficiently to move to theopening into alignment with the succeeding discharge opening.

Themeans for feeding or propelling the lead axially through thepassageway 6 comprises a propelling element constituted by the spirallygrooved periphery 19 of the magazine cylinder 8, and the member 18 whichisthe propelled element. The latter is of U-form having straightparallel guiding arms 22 and 23 which straddle the magazine 8 and slideaxially in longitudinal guideways 24 and 25 on the case 2, and astraight diametrically disposed crotch 2O in the form of a bar which isadapted to travel within a transverse slot 21 in the member 5 and engagethe inner end of each piece of lead during the feeding movement, the barcarrying the cam 17 to position to engage vthe teeth of the distributordisc. The groove in the periphery of the member 8 is endless andcomprises two spirals 26 and 27 the former advancing from the outer endof the member towards the opposite end in a counterclockwise directionwith a slow pitch (approximately nine turns to the inch) and the latteradvancing in a similar manner but in a clockwise direction with a morerapid pitch (approximately one turn to the inch). The ends of thesespirals are joined together to form an endless groove which will causeslow travel in one direction but rapid travel in the opposite directionwhen the member 18 is rotated. The operative connection between thepropelling element thus formed and the feed member 18 is accomplished bypivotally mounting a tongue 28 upon the free end of the arm 20 inposition in which it will extend into the groove 1S) the dimensions ofthe tongue being such that it will travel easily in both spirals withoutjamming.

Operation.

To fi'll the magazine the cap 4 is uuscrewed and a piece of leadinserted into each pocket. The cap is then replaced.

As the opening 16 will be in position registering with one of Jthepockets the lead inserted into that pocket will drop through the openingto its axial position within the passageway with its inner end locatedjust beneath the feed bar 20, it being assumed that the latter is in itsuppermost position.

lli/'ith the lead in position the cap is manually rotated in a clockwisedirection. This rotation being imparted to the propelling member 8,causes the tongue 28 to travel. along the spiral 26 towards the point ofthe pencil moving with it the feed member 18 and consequently feedingthe 'lead along the passageway until it reaches the writingpositionprotruding slightly beyond the point. This feeding movement maybe containned.y as the lead is used, until the tongue reaches the innerend of the spiral 26 at which point it will enter the spiral 27. As theclockwise rotation is continued this spiral 27 through the tonguerapidly returns th-e feeding member to its starting position and justbefore this position is reached the cani 17 movingwith the feedingmember engages the distributor disc 14 and causes the release of anotherpiece of lead.- The foregoing operation is then repeated. n

The pencil hereinbofore described illustrates but one embodiment of myinvention and it is to be understood that the construction may bemodified without departing from the spirit of the invention. Forinstance the slow feed and quick return feature may be applied to someof the wellknown propelling pencils or self-filling fountain pens now onthe market. Figure l2 illustrates the application of this feature to thewell-known Eversharp pencil, the ease 2 of the pencil being internallygrooved to provide an endless Vgroove constituted by spirals 26 and 27,the latter havingl a more rapid pitch than the former. The internalconstruction of the Ever-sharp pencil is wellknown and is therefore notfully described i aman? or. illustrated, only those partsv associatedwith the present invention being shown in dotted lines, namely the leadrcontainer.

which is indicated at 401 divided longitudinally by a transverse opening4511 within which a nut 421 moves axially. In the poesent case thedimensions of the latter should be such that it will readily travelinboth grooves 26 and 27 without jamming. Axial movement of the nut causesthe propulsion of the lead through the tapered point of the pencil case.It may be found desirable to pivot the nut so that it will more readilyfol'low the spiral 27.

When applied to fountain pens the double spiral groove would be employedfor the purpose oit discharging and filling the ink reservoir within thepen.

vWhat I claim is as follows:

1. In a mechanical pencil having a passageway for leads, alongitudinally movable element for propelling leads in said passageway,and rotary means operatively connected to the said element, said rot-arymeans being constructed and arranged to be rotated in one direction andwhen so rotated to `successively move the. said element towards and awayfrom the writing point without the aid of extraneous means.

2. In a mechanical pencil having a passageway for leads, alongitudinally movable element for propelling leads in said passageway,and a rotary element having an endless helical groove comprising ahelical groove advancing in a counter-clockwise direction and a secondhelical groove advancing in a clockwise direction, the ends of onegroovebeing respectively connected to the corresponding ends .of the other,said 1ongitudinally movable element being ada ted to travel within thesaid endless groove w ereby rotation of the rotary element causeslongitudinal movement of the longitudinally movable element successivelytowards and away from the writing point.

3. In a mechanical pencil having a passage-way for leads, alongitudinally movable element for propelling leads in said passageway,and a rotary element having an endless helical groove comprising ahelical groove advancing in a counter-clockwise direction and a secondhelical groove advancing in a clockwise direction, the ends of onegroove being respectively connected tothe corresponding ends of theother, and the pitch of one groove being wider than the pitch of theother, said longitudinally movable element being adapted to travelwithin the said endless groove whereby rotation of the rotaryy elementcauses longitudinal movement of the longitudinally movable elementsuccessively towards and away from the writing point.

Ll. A mechanical pencil having a passageway with a flared end, acylindrical mavazine having a plurality of longitudinally isposedYpockets adapted' tocont'ain: a pluraliof marking' units, each. pockethavinga discharge opening; located alcoveV the flared end ofthepassageway, means controlling the discharge openings, said meansconsisting of a: rotary toothed disc having an openingadaptedatosuccessively register with eachof the; discharge openingswhen*v the disc is rotated, 'means for propelling the marking unitsthrough said passageway, and means for rotating the disc a predeterminedextent when the propulsion of each marking unit has been completed.

5. In a mechanical pencil, a cylindrical magazine adapted to contain aplurality of marking units and having a discharge opening, and resilientmeans ,for imparting to said. units a tendency to move towards the saidopening.

6. A mechanical pencil consisting of a hollow cylindrical case with atapered end having a discharge opening, the opposite end of the casebeingopen, a rotary cylindrical member disposed longitudinally vwithinthe case adjacent the said open end of the latter', the interior of thesaid member being divided into a plurality of pockets forming a magazinefor a plurality of marking units, the exterior of said member having anendless helical groove therein comprising a helical groove advancing ina counter-clockwise direction and a second helical groove advancing in aclockwise direction, the ends of one groove being respectively connectedto the corresponding ends of the other, means for successively ej ectingthe units from the magazine, and means for propelling each unit throughsaid discharge opening after being ejected from the magazine, said meansincluding a longitudinally movable element adapted to travel within saidendless groove.

7. In a mechanical pencil, a cylindrical magazine divided longitudinallyinto a plurality of pockets each adapted to contain a marking unit andeach having a discharge opening, and resilient means for eX- ertingpressure Aupon each unit towards the discharge o ening of its'respective pocket independent y of the other units.

8. In a mechanical pencil having a passageway for leads, alongitudinally movable element for propelling leads in said passageway,a rotary element operatively connected to the first mentioned element,said elements being so constructed and arranged that rotation of therotary element in one direction causes longitudinal movement of thelongitudinally movable element alternately in opposite directions, amagazine adapted to contain a plurality of marking leads, and means inoperative relation with the longitudinally movable element forsuccessively releasing the leads from the. magazine.

9. In a mechanical pencil having a passageway for leads, alongitudinallymovable lli element for propelling leads in Said passageway, a rotaryelement operatively connected to the first mentioned element7 Saidelement` being so constructed and arranged that rotation of the rotaryelement in one direetion azine adapted to contain a plurality of leads,and ineane in operative relation with the 1onl \'itudinally movableelement for successively releasing the leads from the magazine.

In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this specification atMontreal this 28th day of May, 1923.

ALBERT B. W. BARTHOLOMEV.

